photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim finally won their first game of the Bundesliga season by upsetting Hannover 96, and both Fabian Johnson and Danny Williams played a part in making that happen.
The two U.S. men's national team players went the distance and scored goals for Hoffenheim in their stunning 3-1 victory over Steve Cherundolo and Hannover. The match started poorly for struggling Hoffenheim, as they went down courtesy of an own goal in the 26th minute. But Johnson erased that deficit with a quality goal (his first of the campaign) that saw him beat Cherundolo a minute later, and Williams added an insurance goal in second-half stoppage time for his first tally in a Hoffenheim uniform.
Conor O'Brien also netted this weekend, but he contributed more than that in SonderjyskE's 2-2 draw with AGF Aarhus. O'Brien inspired SonderjyskE's rally from a two-goal deficit that saw U.S.-eligible forward Aron Johannsson tally, scoring a goal before assisting on the equalizer in the waning moments of the match.
Carlos Bocanegra did not find the back of the net but he did make his Racing Santander debut on Saturday. Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes as Santander got a 1-0 win against Mirandes, a result that extended the club's current unbeaten streak to four games in Spain's Segunda Division.
While Bocanegra made his debut, so too did U.S. Under-20 men's national team midfielder Hector Benji Joya. The just-turned 19-year-old made his professional debut by coming off the bench and playing 36 minutes in Santos Laguna's scoreless draw with Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
Here's how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton's 3-0 win vs. Swansea City on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 win vs. Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 88 minutes for Tottenham Hotspur.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes, made three saves and received a yellow card in Aston Villa's 4-1 loss vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started, played 68 minutes and received a yellow card for Aston Villa.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City's 1-0 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
Championship
- Tim Ream did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-1 win vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City's 5-0 loss vs. Barnsley on Saturday.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County's 2-1 loss vs. Burnley on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Leicester City's 3-1 win vs. Hull City on Sunday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 2-1 win vs. Coventry City on Saturday.
- Robbie Rogers did not dress in Stevenage's 1-1 draw vs. Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Scunthorpe United's 1-0 win vs. Colchester United on Saturday.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Malaga CF's 0-0 draw vs. Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega started and played 90 minutes in Racing Santander's 1-0 win vs. Mirandes on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley and AS Roma's game vs. Cagliari on Sunday was postponed due to inclement weather.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 3-1 loss vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Sunday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 78 minutes in Schalke 04's 2-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 3-1 win vs. Hannover 96 on Sunday.
- Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZWE3JrnZvs?feature=player_detailpage]
- Timmy Chandler started and played 70 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-1 loss vs. Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen's 1-1 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
2. Bundesliga
- Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 1-1 draw vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- John Anthony Brooks did not dress for Hertha Berlin.
- Andrew Wooten came off the bench and played 36 minutes in SV Sandhausen's 3-0 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Saturday.
- Joe Gyau dressed but did not play in St Pauli's 2-1 loss vs. FSV Frankfurt on Friday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 90 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 2-1 loss vs. NAC Breda on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor and G.D. Estoril Praia play Maritimo on Monday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell dressed but did not play in Vitoria Setubal FC's 1-0 win vs. Olhanense on Sunday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan came off the bench and played two minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 3-2 win vs. Zulte-Waregem on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in FC Rostov's 3-1 loss vs. Spartak Moscow on Sunday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd dressed but did not play in Rapid Vienna's 2-0 win vs. SV Josko Ried on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 82 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. Randers FC on Saturday.
- Clarence Goodson started, played 90 minutes and received a RED CARD in Brondby IF's 1-1 draw vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien started, played 90 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored a GOAL in SonderjyskE's 2-2 draw vs. AGF Aarhus on Friday. You can see the goal and assist here.
- Charlie Davies dressed but did not play in Randers FC's 1-1 draw vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Saturday.
- Aron Johannsson started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in AGF Aarhus' 2-2 draw vs. SonderjyskE on Friday. You can see the goal here.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborgs IF play Malmo FF on Monday.
- Brian Span came off the bench and played four minutes in Djurgardens IF's 3-0 loss vs. BK Hacken on Friday.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK's 0-0 draw vs. Odd Grenland on Sunday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Valerenga on Monday.
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Rosenborg BK's 2-1 loss vs. Brann on Sunday.
- Sean Cunningham did not dress in Stabaek IF's 1-0 loss vs. Fredrikstad on Sunday.
- Chad Barrett and Valerenga play Honefoss BK on Monday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started and played 69 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 loss vs. San Luis on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played four minutes in Santos Laguna's 0-0 draw vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
- Hector Joya came off the bench and played 36 minutes for Santos Laguna.
- DaMarcus Beasley started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Puebla's 1-1 draw vs. Leon on Friday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIqPrDj74t8?feature=player_detailpage]
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 1-1 draw vs. Morelia on Friday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal came off the bench and played eight minutes in San Luis' 1-0 win vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana's 1-1 draw vs. Atlas on Saturday.
- Joe Corona started and played 70 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America's 1-1 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed that both Williams and Johnson scored in a Hoffenheim victory? Do you see Bocanegra enjoying a solid season with Racing Santander?
Share your thoughts below.